Today in 1972, Apollo 17 landed on the moon. So far, it’s the last mission that put human beings on the lunar surface. And it was the only Apollo mission where the dust all over that surface gave an astronaut a strong allergic reaction.
Finally, our podcast makes it to the smallest room in the house.
Today was the launch date in 1972 of Apollo 16, a mission that tried to pay tribute to that year's Summer Games with a "lunar Olympics"... only the astronauts almost had a disaster on their lunar-suited hands.
Scientists and technicians are trying to figure out the logistics of off-Earth human bases. If that happens, there's some research that suggests the communities could end up developing their own accents.
Today in 1968, the Soviet Union was launching the Zond 5 mission, orbiting the moon. But on cosmanaut, knowing the US would be listening, decided to pretend he’d landed on the moon's surface.
Today in 1938, a pilot named Douglas Corrigan was supposed to fly from New York to California, but ended up in Dublin. “Wrong Way” Corrigan became an international celebrity - even if the story he told was not necessarily what actually happened.
Today in 1951, Sally Ride was born. She was a worldwide sensation in the 1980s as the first American woman in space, but before that, she was a talented youth tennis player who once caught the attention of the legendary Billie Jean King.
Today in 1972, astronauts John Young and Charles Duke stepped on the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission. Along the way, one of the moonwalkers revealed to the world, without meaning to, that orange juice had made him gassy.
Today in 1984, two US astronauts walked in space. And, for the first time, they weren’t connected to anything.
Today in 1923, the birthday of Alan Shepard. He was the first American in space, and the first person to ever play golf on the Moon.
